The Logic of the Identity of Being and Goodness and a Moral Argument for Theism

Abstract In section 1 of this paper, I consider the logical validity of four versions of Aquinas’ arguments to this conclusion that being and good are identical, as presented by Stump and Kretzmann. Subsequently, I formalize the arguments in order to make their validity logically explicit. In section 2, I show how the formal reality of the identity of being grounds moral arguments for theism. In section 3, I then consider the application of this formal reality, to a simplified contemporary “moral argument” for theism. I argue that Aquinas’ arguments for the identity of being and goodness should play a vital role in moral arguments for theism to militate against atheistic objections to them.